#now that its trending i feel fucking weird about it people are going to think im doing it for the trend

[wayslidecool]

arabic numerals ranked from worst to best by their potential as the lens in new year's glasses

#10: Seven (7)

seven is a very awkward number for a lot of things, and new year's glasses are no exception. its weird angular shape leaves no opening to put a lens in, and unlike the next entry, it's too wide to comfortably squeeze between lens in the second and fourth digits. and the impressive thing about 7 is that this is a number with plenty of writing variations, and yet i can't think of a single one that makes it an efficient lens! sorry 7. i think you're the best number for a rating scale, but that's about it.

#9: One (1)

the 2010s were a rough time for new year's glasses, huh? coming off the high of the 1990s and 2000s, people were determined to make the 2010s work, but that's a tall fucking order. the saving grace of 1, and the reason it's above 7, is that it's skinny enough that you can slide it between numbers and use the fourth digit of the year as the lens, but the fact you have to resort to that is only further evidence of how much 1 sucks at being the lens.

#8: Two (2)

two is definitely a tier above the previous two entries. it's an interesting and versatile enough shape that you can mess with it to try and make a viable spot for a lens, what with the upper loop and lower angle, but i feel no matter what you try, you always gotta make some concessions. like, you have enough to work with that a talented enough designer can make something that works, but usually the result is more "functional" than "good".

#7: Four (4)

now we're getting into numbers that could actually make for passable lenses. i mean, check it out! we have a closed loop here and everything, that has GOT to count for something! what makes me put four relatively low on the list is that with its right-triangle shape, i can't imagine it being a very comfortable shape for a lens, especially with how much ends up sticking out and downwards. still, a vast improvement over the previous three entries, even if it's basically just a worse 9.

#6: Five (5)

i feel like depending on what you prioritize in new year's glasses, these next two entries could end up going below the previous one, but personally, i think the not-closed round loop feels like a more practical spot for a lens than 4's closed-but-angular loop, y'know? so what if the loop isn't closed, it still mostly surrounds your eye, and feels generally passable to me. this is a number that wouldn't inspire the idea for new year's glasses, but certainly works now that the idea has been established.

#5: Three (3)

three is basically the same thing as 5, and i could even see some people putting it below 5, since 5's loop is a bit closer to being closed than either of 3's loops. that being said, 3's dual-loop is ultimately what gives it the edge to me. it ends up feeling more versatile to me. i feel the bottom loop is generally the correct choice, but just having the option of the top loop as well really helps it out. either way, after suffering through the 2010s and 2020s, i expect the 2030s to be a welcome breath of fresh air.

#4: Nine (9)

now we're getting to the really good ones. i mean, the 1990s are when the trend of new year's glasses started! if this number was good enough to kickstart the trend, then clearly it's a good number to put the lens in. having a closed round loop really goes a long way, it turns out! what puts 9 below the next three entries is the tail. having that swoop down towards your face feels like it'd be a bit uncomfortable, and this issue doesn't crop up with the next three entries. still, 9 is a trailblazer and its place in the New Year's Glasses Metagame needs to be respected.

#3: Six (6)

if 9's only issue is the tail getting all up in your face, then what better way to solve that then just turning it upside-down? it might just be me, put having it brush up against your forehead feels much, much less intrusive than having it brush up against your face. and plus, it can give the impression of a raised eyebrow! bonus! the 2030s-2050s are going to be a refreshing breath of fresh air following the awful new year's glasses of the 2010s and 2020s, but the 2060s are going to be a true new year's glasses renaissance.

#2: Eight (8)

hey, so remember how i put 3 above 5 since i felt the double loop made it a bit more versatile? well now imagine that, but both loops are closed. 8 makes for such a good lens, it's a little surprising we didn't see new year's glasses in the 1980s (i'm guessing having two of the same number is more inspiring than two different numbers?) either way, eight isn't content to give you just one closed loop. it'll give you a second closed loop right above. (or below!) 8 is a versatile number with many options, and i hope i can live to see the day we see it in new year's glasses. a true stand out in its field.

#1: Zero (0)

still, even with all the good years ahead, it's hard to ignore the fact that the best years are sadly behind us, with the 2000s being the absolute pinnacle of new year's glasses design. i mean, come on. a single loop with no frills is basically what glasses designs default to already, so using the middle two zeroes as the lens for glasses? impeccable design. the 1990s were good enough to kickstart the trend, but the 2000s were good enough to make us want to brute force the 2010s and 2020s. if that's not the mark of a good design, i don't know what is.

sadly, it's likely we'll never see design this good again. the next year with the middle two digits being two zeroes is 3000, and while we might be able to execute double-zero designs at the turn of each century, they'll end up looking weirdly lopsided in the process. i believe humans are hubristic enough to try and brute-force bad decades, but multiple bad centuries? forget about it.

oh well. happy new year

#happy new year

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm DELIGHTED by so much goodness, also I lust after a boy's robot's pants

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Feb 2024 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 11 of 12 - I support the fact that the producers seem to have decided that even in uniform Yai never needs to wear sleeves. Hear hear.

No sleeves for Yai ever again!

On the other hand, why doesn’t anyone ever wear gloves? Going around touching evidence all willy nilly like that.

No to sleeves. Yes to gloves.

People. Sheesh. Get with the program.

Anygay, this is such a fun show. I could watch 50 episodes of this abject nonsense. I’m sad it’s gonna be ending. And I don’t say that often about Thai BL. 

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 12 of 14 - Oh has Jeff been kidnapped again? Here, let's throw fruit at Babe and think about it for a bit. Tra la la. Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - They are such very good boyfriends. Also, this is a ton of kissing for OffGun. I’m at a loss as to how they are going to turn this into a decent 12 ep show. Unfortunately, I’ve foresee it going off the rails - pacing seems off. 

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - We have our little No Comebacks twist. The sides are growing on me, but now the mains are boring me. The sudden gun-toting new characters are just weird. It’s like they took the script and just threw it down a staircase, gathered it back up again, then filmed that. 

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Fueang is an actor in the midst of crisis and scandal. Normally I don’t like Thai BL when it’s tackles celebrity and this is... yep, the same. Our actor is pitted against an older worried nerdy app developer, Krom. And I feel that dynamic - hyung romance, jock/nerd? Very nice. But it’s also very Star Hunter. Never met a trope they didn’t wanna do a million times over - in the very first episode. Also I think I’m not a fan of the actor playing the lead. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 24fin - The blond who comes to get his hair shaved looks just like Fluke T (SOTUS et al). And even more like him after the shaving (My Bromance et al). Is that him? MDL doesn't say.

Anygay... something something: Orphan. Cancer. Kisses. Dream. Death. 'Bout what I expected. 2/10 even with a decent kiss I don’t do dream sequences and I don’t like death in my BL 

All in all, I’m relieved that that’s over. The series is a slog. And in general I don’t recommend it. I plan to promptly forget its entire existence. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - There is so much to adore about this show. The two younger guys who are suddenly in competition for the one older one. You know hyung romances are my favs. A hyung love triangle? COME ON. Also, I got to say this one’s giving me second lead syndrome. I do love me a brat. Add in all this on honorific play and linguistic flirting (as their should be in age gap). This is just THE BEST show. 

Look I gotta say this: the "Who did this to you?" trope (AKA who hurt you?) is the single most popular romance trope right now, remarkable to see it turn up in a BL. And pleasing. Trust Korea to be ON TREND. It's their national agenda. *respect*

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) eps 1-2 of 6 - From Fuji TV (who brought us the Pornographer series) adapted from Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team includes Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (scriptwriter for Old Fashion Cupcake). Hiro’s so stressed at work he barely has time to eat so he passes out on the sidewalk. An unfamiliar face saves him and insists that they once promised to marry each other.

Ready?

Oh I fucking love it. Sullen, out gay, younger seme with serious grumpy overprotective tendencies and beautiful possessive cat eyes? Well, it’s not dimples, but it’s still my catnip. Also they are moving very quickly. Hand jobs already? + dub con seasoning? Say it with me everyone:

Oh Japan, must you? 

Apparently, you must. And I must enjoy it. Carry on.

Please reread those producer creds and understand what we are in for. Okay? I would urge you to avoid this one if you get squeamish when JBL does what... JBL does.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) eps 1-2 of 10 - I really enjoy the character of an OCD intellectual automaton professor, contrasted to a warm and sunshine actual robot. Out the gate, this is oozing Taiwanese domesticity, we can only hope they juice it with their usual standard of heat too. 

All puns aside: It’s charming and I’m charmed. Does Taiwan finally have another winner on its hands?

I do adore Taiwan's aesthetics: The house designs, the suit designs, the human designs. I wouldn't say no to the robot’s pants either. Very cool. Can I order them in black?

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - The birthday confession was a bit much. But I love how mature the reactions were. It reminded me a little bit of I Cannot Reach You. Always a good thing. 

Girl: I like you. 

Sakae: sorry, not intersted 

Girl: what am I lacking? 

Sakae: a dick 

What you mean it didn’t go that way?

Happy Ending (Korea Tues YT) 2 of 3 - Oh it’s lovely, exactly as I expect from Strongberry.

I gotta say all of the above are pretty neck & neck for top spots for entirely different reasons. BL is seriously giving right now!

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 8fin - In the end this is mostly a piece about courage, and the rewards and disappointments that being courageous entails. Sadly, I personally didn’t have the courage to enjoy it. Featuring a chaos nugget bad boy student who falls madly in love with his teacher, this should’ve been My Thing. But Japan failed me. It happens sometimes. The leads had no chemistry, and the age gap rather than being a narrative driver and source of conflict, was just ignored. 7/10 

It's Done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam so I assume it's on YouTube. I never even noticed. Anyone got a link?

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - Is TRUST Entertainment bringing us the first ever Burmese BL? I don't know if it's really the first, but @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch through.

The Whisperer (Thai Horror) - @all-you-had-to-do-was-neigh commented with the following: "MASSIVE content warning for extreme ableism, homophobia, and rape plots done for shock value. I don't recommend it, and if any of your followers decide to watch it proceed with caution."

So... yeah, I won't be watching it.

It's Airing But...

[NO INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 12 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) 12 eps - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still Coming in Feb

2/17 A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - Khonprot, a third-year head hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through many girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks maybe a boy has a chance.

2/24 Unknown (Taiwan Youku) 12 eps - Older brother tough guy criminal breadwinner looks after his sister and defacto adopted little brother. Little bother falls in love with him and is sent away after a stolen kiss. But when he comes back…

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

GMMTV is officially stalking me.

I do love OffGun's particular brand of domesticity. It's fun that they and TayNew are both getting to be so soft on our screens. It's very comforting, like a family favorite warm toddy. (Cooking Crush)

Korea, what's gotten into you? Are you feeling okay? Such bold weaponized gayness isn't like you at all. (Love for Love's Sake)

The Sign, forcing me to ask the eternal question.

I LOVES THEM YOUR HONOR. (Pit Babe)

(Last week)

#pit babe the series #alanjeff #pit babe #the sign #the sign the series #the sign is the best #cooking crush #offgun #thai bl #Love For Love's Sake #who hurt you #who did this to you #Perfect Propose #japanese bl #korean bl #AntiReset #Taiwanese bl #Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka #although i love you and you #Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun #Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun review #happy ending the series #strongberry #Love Supremacy Zone #isekai

[stupidstrawberrystars]

hi. so. I NEED MORE OF THAT TIKTOK AU

While I am writing this for me, to try and remind myself why I love writing, I also love that other people loved it too ❤️ I promised myself i wouldn’t answer this until I finished the next bit, so I have :) So thank you 😊

Wolfstar tiktok AU- Part Two (sorry if it’s unrealistic how often they go on “lives”. The next one will likely be them accidentally creating a couples trend).

Previous (Part One). Next (Part Three).

Oh and… this is 3k words. So i’m thinking of putting it on ao3. BUT ITS GOOD. I promise. Please read it (if it’s ur thing). They flirt embarrassingly and then Remus gets Sirius a super cute birthday gift!

Half their fan base are “Wolfstar” fans now. Thank James for sharing the ship name Marlene came up with a couple years ago. Luckily, Sirius is reassured that Remus has none and will not get any social media, due to his constant slander of it. So he’ll never find out about their fans.

But their platform is pretty great, it’s a community already and there’s almost no toxic people. Which is exactly why Sirius feels comfortable with this stream on his birthday. Him and James have been trying on skirts. 

They’re on the final ones now. Pete’s in the background ranking them. James has on a kind of ugly red skirt, it passes his feet and has weird frills all over it. But Sirius likes his skirt. The most actually. It’s a pleated, green mini(ish) skirt, the type that goes perfectly with his leather jacket and boots. 

He doesn’t have a super feminine build (except maybe his long hair- it’s all dumb stereotypes though) and he’s certainly not as thin as skirts are often designed for, so he was worried they wouldn’t suit or fit him. But James offered to do this, and he’s really enjoyed it. 

And now Sirius is tempted to wear it to the mini birthday celebration Marlene’s organised for him tonight. Only there’s a slight problem, it’s a little cold outside and none of his shirts go with the skirt.

“Padfoot, you literally own everything, how do you not have anything that goes?” James cannot even say that right now, he’s wearing a football top over the skirt. Football tops can go with skirts, but definitely not that skirt.  

“They do go. But it’s so cold and Marls planned a mostly outside thing. Usually i’d sacrifice my temperature for my style but it is my birthday. Shouldn’t I just get my perfect outfit?”

Pete warned him. He said that wearing the skirt outside wasn’t the best idea in November. But it hasn’t been too cold recently. Plus, it really looks good with his boots.

“Hey how about one of Moony’s jumpers you stole? They’re thin enough to fit under the jacket, would go with the skirt and would keep you warm. Plus you love them.” Sirius feels his cheeks warm a little. Trust Pete to simultaneously contribute a good idea and embarrass him. But regardless, he goes into his room and comes back out with two jumpers.

“I’ve only got red and orange? Neither go with green. I need like a- a brown one. So never mind.”

And as Sirius contemplates his outfit, the door opens.

“Sorry i’m late I had to pop back to my place to grab your gif-“ Sirius looks over when he hears Remus trail off.

“You alright Moons?” Remus is frozen in place, staring at Sirius like a deer in headlights. From their camera placement, the phone is recording only Sirius and James, with Pete popping up in the background. So Sirius steps out of frame to go towards Remus at the door. “Hey Moony.” James yells from behind him and it seems to snap Remus out of whatever caught his attention.

“Fuck, shit, sorry. Got erm- distracted. Hey, Happy Birthday Pads! I like- hah- the skirts. They suit you both. Well. I’ve got the drinks demanded by Marls and your gifts Padfoot.” It’s not even a compliment towards him and yet Sirius blushes.

“Yeah Remus is right, you’re really pulling of that long fucking red thing there James.” The compliment was probably just Remus trying to be nice. Petes right, James has pulled of many of the skirts so far but this is not the one.

“What the compliment, thanks Wormy.”

Full disclosure, they had to admit the background story of all their nicknames to the internet, lest their fans think they’re bullying Pete.

Sirius steps back into camera, with the whole living room behind him, placing the drinks to the side and grabbing his gifts. There’s two. A small box and a bigger, less obvious-shaped gift. 

“So everyone, I haven’t seen Moony alllll day since he had class and tests without stopping and he had to revise. But, worry not, he did text me Happy Birthday between each class cause he knows I want attention. So, how’d they go Moons?”

Sirius is inspecting the bigger gift, it’s an odd shape, and vaguely squishy, perhaps clothes, and when he looks back up at Remus, he’s got a little blush on his cheeks and his neck, and Sirius (not for the first time) wonders how far down his body it runs.

“Oh we don’t- it doesn’t matter... Oh okay stop glaring at me. All three tests went okay. I was really happy with my essay one though. So yeah, not so bad.”

“Congrats Moony, knew you’d kill it. Since we’re sharing news, I got to cover for the missing chef today, above all the other interns, so...” He’s told James and Sirius already. But there’s something about telling Remus news that matters more (at least to Sirius).

“Holy shit Pete that’s awesome. I knew they loved you. Good job. Hey, let’s see the cake you made. We’re so lucky to have a cook, I swear i’d starve to death without you.” Pete smiles at Remus’ compliment like he doesn’t say the same sort of thing every time Remus eats Pete’s food. And they live together, so that’s very often. Remus is just always so genuine.

Pete lifts the lid of the cake box to show Remus, and they fall into a little conversation in the kitchen, just to the edge of the screen of their live.

“You gonna open his gift now or later Pads?”

But Sirius isn’t even listening. He’s got an idea.

“Hey Moony come over here.” Remus walks towards Sirius with a doubtful look on his face. He clearly knows the tone Sirius takes when he wants something.

Sirius places the gifts on the table beside him, he’s desperate to know what they are but it’ll have to wait. 

“So... i’ve been trying to figure out what top can go with this skirt-“ There’s a joke about Remus topping him in there someone, and that’s obviously what James is thinking, “But nothing I own goes with it. I was going to wear one of your jumpers, but the ones i’ve got here are the wrong colour.”

Remus furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head as if to ask where this is going. It’s a bit far to go to Remus’ flat to steal his jumper. That’s not the plan though.

“And then in you walked, like the answer to my dreams,” Remus attempts to lean on the mini table behind him but it pushes backwards easily and he stumbles forward, sort of recovering. “And I realised the jumper you’re wearing right now matches absolutely perfectly with my skirt and my jacket.” Sirius takes a step towards Remus, and grabs onto the jumper ever so gently with his hand, and then looks a little up at Remus with what he hopes is a cute and not at all guilty smile.

“You-“ Remus chokes on his own words as he tries to speak, “You want the one i’m wearing righ- erm- right now?”

Sirius isn’t stupid, he knows Remus gets flustered sometimes when he’s a little flirty (Remus is gay, and Sirius is fucking hot, anyone with eyes would want to fuck him, so no James, it is not proof Remus loves him back). And he knows Remus never refuses anyone cause he’s so lovely. Especially not on their birthday.

“Come on Moons. It’s my birthday. Please.” Puppy dog eyes never fail. It’s funny actually, cause when anyone else sends Remus cute eyes in order to persuade him, like James, he usually just rolls his eyes and ignores them. But it always works when it’s Sirius.

Maybe he’s just really good at it. Pete always said Sirius was a dog in another life.

“Don’t you think I should wear the skirt? Or do I not actually look good?” For the record (he’ll be accused of this later by fans) he was not guilt tripping Remus. They both know he’s going to agree. Sirius just has to jump through a few hoops so Remus can feel like he has willpower. “Pads you- you look great.” Sirius raises an eyebrow. “You look hot okay. Really hot. But what- erm- what’ll I wear if you take my top?”

That was easy. And yes, he does look hot. Good of Remus to notice (James is shooting him the look, as he always does. It means “It’s reciprocated you idiot”. But Sirius still isn’t sure. That was just a compliment after all).

Sirius wraps one hand around Remus’ arm and keeps the other one buried in his jumper, and then tugs him. Remus trips over a little but follows behind.

“I’ll find you something.”

“Wait Padfoot- I just-“

“Oh come on,” Sirius spins back to meet Remus’ eyes, “You’re the one who said I should wear the skirt. You said I look hot. Hot enough to have earnt it?”

Remus coughs and turns red, again. He blushes so easily. But he tugs Sirius into his bedroom so they can trade.

That’s for sure a win.

And while they’re in there... let’s just say James makes plenty of innuendoes. And Pete laughs his head off.

“You are going to give me the jumper back... right Pads?” Remus walks out the room in his red jumper that Sirius stole a month ago, and Sirius in Remus’ brown jumper. To be fair, it does go with the skirt perfectly.

“Really Moony? It’s my birthday.”

“Yes and usually the rule is I pick you a gift, you don’t just steal one of my belongings. Which I have by the way, two actually. and you haven’t opened either.”

“I’ll give it back eventually Moony. But don’t I just look lovely in this? Or- do you not think I look lovely?”

Sirius reaches to where he left the gifts and picks them up. It’s got a card stuck to the front of the wrapping. He’s ignoring the slight insecurity in his voice. It’s never an easy thing to dress more feminine after being raised the way he was. But he loves fashion and makeup. And he believes it’s for everyone. So he won’t let his past prevent his future. 

“You look-“ Remus grabs Sirius’ arm and turns him so they’re facing each other. It throws off Sirius’ balance a little and now he’s definitely close enough for all the fan edits to take advantage of. Plus he’s in Remus’ jumper. And it smells so much like him. He really must’ve been a dog in another life. “You look absolutely gorgeous Pads”. 

He whispers it, like it’s a secret, and yet also like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Trust Moony to recognise the slight worry in his voice and go to extra effort to reassure him.

“Th-Thanks Moons.” Sirius never used to believe books or tv when they claimed the world fell away when they locked eyes with their soulmate. Frankly he never even believed in soulmates. But if soulmates aren’t real, what the bloody hell is Remus Lupin? 

Because Sirius has never been more sure of anything in the world, than this. Than that he meets Remus in every universe and in every time and in every life and Remus ruins him. In a heartbreaking, life shattering, incredibly brilliant way. 

Because when he meets Remus’ eyes, time becomes a simple construct, a useless concept unnecessary to his thoughts. And other people become 2D, folded flat and barely visible. Sound falls away and all he can hear is Remus’ words and his gentle breathing. 

“Wanna open your gifts now Pads?” Remus’ hands are still ever so slightly on his hips, and his right hand has slipped just low enough that one of his fingers is resting on Sirius’ skin. It’s electric, and yet also calming. He’s buzzing and yet peaceful. And he still can’t look away.

Sirius is convinced he’s never once been the first one of the two to break eye contact. Because how the fuck could he ever look away from Remus’ eyes.

“Okay.” I’ll do anything you say. You don’t even have to ask. 

Sirius stares into his eyes until he looks away, as always, not breaking eye contact first.

Then he carefully takes the card of the paper and opens it with his nail the way his mother trained him to do.

It’s got a tacky 21 on the front but when Sirius opens it, it’s got quite a bit written inside. 

Dear Pads 

Happy Birthday! 

I know we don’t usually write much in these dumb cards, the gift and the day itself are the point right? But I thought maybe this time I should add something extra. 

Your 21st birthday is important Pads. And not because you can now drink legally if you ever go to America.  

Today marks 5 years since you were brave enough to leave home, sorry that’s probably not something you want me reminding you off. And yet here I am. 

You pretend like today doesn’t hurt you. But I know you. So I know it does. And that’s okay. 

You don’t listen to James or Reg when they tell you, so please listen to me, to this. You are brave Sirius. You are brave and you are sweet and you are tough. Tougher than me. And you’re so fucking smart. 

You are the most incredible person i’ve ever had the luxury of knowing. And hey, i’m not saying this out loud okay? God knows your ego’s big enough ;) So just… believe this Sirius. Believe me. Please. I’d go through anything to know you. I’d do all the dumb shit i’ve done again and again as long as I knew i’d get to keep you. 

This world is boring as shit half the time and too painful to live in the other half. And yet with you, it’s a fairytale. 

I guess you’re just magic Pads.  

So I hope you enjoy today. And the rest of your birthdays. And I hope I get the pleasure of being there for them all. 

Love, Moony ❤️

“Jesus Moony-“ Sirius chokes on a slight cry. “Fucking sappy git.” He tugs Remus’ jumper and pulls him into a hug. Remus just chuckles. 

“Open the fucking gifts Pads.” Sirius laughs.

“Damn alright Moony.” Looking back down at them, Sirius still isn’t sure what they’ll be.  

Ripping open the paper to the bigger one (James bullies him if he uses his nail to gently open it like his parents used to make him) Sirius feels its clothing. And it’s black. He takes it out to find… 

That fucking sneak. A few months ago Sirius wanted to order this old leather jacket, from a brand that went bust, but to get it he had to consistently outbid this random guy on ebay. He didn’t have the time. Remus offered to take over for him but Sirius refused, deciding (disappointed) that it wasn’t worth it.

But he must’ve done it anyway. Even when he was feeling sick. Just to win Sirius a fucking jacket he adored. 

“This is the jacket I wanted.”

“Yeah.”

“That I couldn’t get cause I had to outbid someone all day.”

“Yeah.”

“That I told you not to try and get for me cause you were sick.”

“Yeah…”

He’s blushing. Well- they’re both blushing. Sirius is blushing because Remus fucking Lupin worked so hard to get him an amazing gift, and Remus is… well he’s probably blushing out of embarrassment. He hates it when people compliment him, which technically Sirius hasn’t done yet but the intention is there. 

“Thank you.” He tries to sound as sincere as possible. He wants Remus to understand how much he appreciates him.

“Just open the other one.”

Sirius looks at the small box. He has no idea what could be in it (within reason, it’s obviously some sort of jewellery). 

He unwraps it and opens the box.

And it’s his old rings.

The ones he left behind, at his house, when he ran away. 

He’d gotten them at a one-time, random stand in London with Remus when he was 15. They were expensive but fucking good quality. He wished he’d remembered to grab them when he ran. He’d searched forever to find the people who ran the stand. And no rings since had felt the same.

“What the- Moons how the hell did you get these?” There’s silence for a moment before-

“What are they?” If he’s being totally honest, Sirius forget James was even there.

“Look-“ Sirius tips the box towards James, and he gasps, “That’s the rings you lost!” 

Sirius looks back at Remus.

“I just- you bring them up sometimes. You got most things when you left, and Reg brought some things, but your parents bragged about burning them, and I can tell it bothers you that you lost them. Not that it was at all your fault. Anyway, I had a picture, of the inside of one. I’d sent it to Lily after you bought them. And I noticed the photo had an engraving on it, I zoomed in and it was the name of this company. I checked it out, turns out it was a little family company and they still had a little ring shop in Italy. So I had my friend Grant, he’s in Italy for uni, drop by the shop and look. Turns out they did all their work as custom designs but I had some photos of the rings on your hands, so I sent them to Grant and the people there recreated them. That’s why I stole a bunch of your rings 4 months back. To photo them with a coin, for measuring. So they’ll all fit on different fingers.” 

Remus is staring at his feet the whole time as he speaks, as if Sirius is going get mad that he went to so much effort to get him the most thoughtful and lovely gift of all time. Fuck. Remus Lupin. How was Sirius ever supposed to not fall in love with him? 

“I- I don’t know what to- thank you Remus. Thank you so, so much. Fuck, you’re so amazing, and sweet-“ And there’s the blushing from the compliments, “You are so fucking lovely and kind and thoughtful.” Sirius can think of anymore words so he pulls Remus in for yet another hug. 

It lasts longer than it probably should.

“Erm- not to interrupt or anything- but we’re totally gonna be late and this is erm- is sort of still going.” Sirius turns around to James. 

“What’s still going?” James blinks and then Sirius remembers. 

“Oh the live thingy.” They’ve probably been half in shot the whole time. Remus doesn’t seem bothered, but Sirius is kinda pissed off. This is a moment for them, the internet doesn’t need to see it.

“There’s plenty of things they don’t see Pads. It’s okay. We still have our privacy.” Remus whispers in his ear. Fucking mind reader. 

“Right. Well. We’d best turn it off so I can put these rings on and go to Marlene’s. Bye.” 

Sirius shuts it off before James even gets the chance to say anything. 

He turns to the others with a smile, “Text Marlene, tell her we’re about to leave, i’m just gonna put these on.” Sirius holds up the box and runs to his room.

All the rings fit perfectly. 

Thanks for reading ✨❤️ (I hope you can’t tell I know nothing about jobs or chefs or fashion or university tests or clothes or rings) 

#I didn’t mention it yet but remus is totally wearing a hair tie around his wrist for sirius all the time #imma try and include that soon #ugh i’m really rediscovering writing #I shall write what I love again #and what I love is dumb idiots who can’t communicate #dead gay wizards #marauders era #sirius black #remus lupin #james potter #marauders #wolfstar #fanfics #i wrote a fic #i wrote a thing

[cryptidghostgirl]

Heyy :)))

any writing tips for beginners?

First off, can I just say, it is genuinely such an honor to get asked this question? It makes me so happy.

The biggest thing I would recommend for beginners is just to write. The more you write, the more used to it you get. I know that doesn't sound like very productive advice, but it is the truth. I have been writing fics since I was twelve and I am twenty one now. My first fics were shit. One of my earliest ones (its a BSD Akutagawa x Reader fic called Project X I started when the show first came out back in 2016 and finished in 2022 that is still up on my wattpad, which is linked in my pinned post, if you want proof I am not lying) is genuine shit, but I put a lot of passion and a lot of time into it (to the point that if you read the book, you watch me learn how to write). It was the practice and time spent that did the trick. So write and write and write. You don't have to post it anywhere or show it to anyone until you feel like you are ready (or at all). The more you do it, the more everything will fall into place.

The second thing I would recommend is to write the stories that you want to read, whether fanfiction or not. You have to be invested in whatever you're making in order for it to work. If you don't care, you wont put the effort in. You wont take the time for it. The only reason I started writing in the first place was because I would read fic after fic and I never saw anyone else putting the ideas I had on to paper (this actually lead to me starting a mini trend in the BSD fic community on wattpad lol). This will also help, if you are putting your work out into the world in some way, with the idea of reward. Whether through notes or readers or whatever, as long as you like what you are writing and you want to read what you are making, it is worth it and it is enough.

Third is to read. One of the ways I developed my own writing style was by taking note of the things I liked about other peoples writing styles (doesn't matter whom. I take a lot of the way I write from poets and authors like Annie Dillard and Terry Pratchett as well as other fic writers). So much of writing is about aesthetics and personal preference. Once I knew what I defined as 'good writing,' I could figure out how to morph my own work into something I deemed 'good.' This also counts for reading the things you yourself have written. I go back and re-read and edit my own work all the fucking time, both out of an enjoyment for the stories I create and in an effort to make them better. The best thing you can do is to read your work out loud. Listen to what you change when you read it out loud, what sounds odd or uncomfortable, where there are gaps. It really helped me when I first started writing fics almost ten years ago, and it still helps me now.

This is a weird one, but when you're writing about emotions, try to feel the emotion yourself. Think about what something like fear does to a person. Picture the situation you are writing and take the time to think about the ways in which you personally, or your character, would react to it. Writing reactions, body movements, things like that, has always been the most difficult for me, especially when its in-between dialogue and not just big blocks of text. Taking a moment and closing my eyes, feeling the shiver down my spine or the burst of sudden joy, really helps pin down the ideas and figure out how to describe them.

Also, if you know other languages, think about the things you like about the way those function and how you can incorporate that into your work. A lot of the way I structure sentences comes from ancient Greek, for example, with my usage of participles and timing. It doesn't have to be an ancient language though! And it doesn't even really have to be another language. All that matters is that you are actively thinking about the way the words interact with one another and what is pleasing to you. English is such a flexible and fun thing, there is so much meaning in every word and if you want to, it can be really fun to play around with. (I am a philologist. I am sorry for the little rant.)

That being said, it is important that you understand the grammar of the language you are writing in. This might just be a personal thing, but incorrect grammar tends to really bug me. Once you know the rules, they are easier to follow and it makes a huge difference. Also, incorporating techniques like varied sentence length/structure and literary devices like metaphor, allusion, ekphrasis, and simile can really make a piece more enjoyable for a perspective reader (whether the reader is yourself or someone else.)

Write what you know, write what you love, write what you want, write what you need, write. Don't worry about it being 'good enough,' if it is on the paper it is good enough. The hardest part is starting. Once you've got that under your belt, anything is possible.

Now that this post is almost excessively long, I am gonna make myself stop. I really hope at least some of this made sense and that you find it helpful.

<3 <3

#i wasnt kidding when i said it was an honor to get this ask #this makes me feel like a real writer #ahhhhhhhh #i love you guysssss #answered #fic writer #fic writing #fanfiction writing #fanfic writing #writing #writing advice #writing tips #writing tips for beginners #how to write #writer tips #fanfic writing tips #bunny answers #bunny speaks #answered asks #answers

[johannestevans]

My Top 6 Films of 2023

Just some recommendations for my favourite new releases of last year!

Originally published on Cinemania.

2023 had a few knock-out hits as far as the cinema goes — obviously, people were very excited about the respective releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer, but my top films of the year were a bit different.

One thing I do think unites a lot of these — and a trend I hope to see from more films in the next few years — is a trend toward more earnestness and sincerity in scripts and plot lines, and I’m hoping that trend continues!

Without further ado, my top films of 2023:

They Cloned Tyrone (dir. Juel Taylor)

They Cloned Tyrone is a fucking triumph, and hands-down had my favourite costume design of the year — it at the same time feels very vintage in places, calling heavily on the Blaxploitation movies of the 1970s and their aesthetics while at the same time dragging in more modern— and dystopian — futuristic elements throughout. Teyonah Parris is a particular triumph as Yo-Yo, but the whole cast really rocks this whole flick.

This film feels in so many ways like a fever dream, layering disparate elements and tones, and for that is all the more hard-hitting with the horror and painful realism of its cynical central plot.

If you watch a single of the films recommended on this list, make it this one.

Down Low (dir. Rightor Doyle)

This film is weird as fuck, and it makes a lot out of leaning into that. Delving into the ugly reality of down-low hook-ups on gay dating apps and dialing the chaos that can arise from them up to the max, this is a surprisingly heartfelt look at gay loneliness and isolation in the white middle-class US.

It’s fast-paced and kooky with its dialogue — Lukas Gage, of Euphoria fame, co-wrote the script with Phoebe Fisher, and Gage’s particular style of verbose and down-right weird speeches are dotted through it — and while it ultimately ends in the death you know from the beginning is coming, it doesn’t feel like it’s wholly a tragedy.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023, dir. John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein)

I don’t think I need to go into great detail about this one — Dungeons and Dragons’ newest addition to its array of canons here is a spellbinding and delightful watch. A lot of the problem with fantasy films and TV shows the past few years has been how painfully over-ironic they are, with none of them being able to just lean into their premise and accept that, yes, we’re being a bit silly, and that’s the point! But the DnD movie is just spectacularly earnest and gives itself entirely over to the wonder of its world, and that feels wonderful.

Every time I’ve watched it, which is a few times now, I’ve picked up on new fun world details or little in-jokes, and there are just so many things this film does right and has fun with, most of all making Xenk Yendar even more autistic than ever whilst also making him hot with the Regé-Jean Page casting.

And also, Hugh Grant is here playing a horrible, sleazy bastard of a wizard, and speaking of hot —

Cocaine Bear (dir. Elizabeth Banks)

Must a film be good?

Firstly, isn’t a coked-up horny female bear wreaking havoc and ripping people to shreds enough? And also, even if it wasn’t enough, aren’t so many queer characters going through the weirdest day out ever, girlbosses galore (I’m including the bear), funny as Hell dialogue, and even plot twists enough?

We saw this in the cinema on its release, and it was utterly glorious. Everyone should have the pleasure of seeing the feminist icon of 2023, the cocaine bear (sorry, Barbie), on the biggest screen imaginable, ripping into some hapless gay with full surround sound.

The Boogeyman (dir. Rob Savage)

I normally run along to see any new releases from Rob Savage as I loved Host, and The Boogeyman was so much more than I expected — bearing no resemblance at all to the original lacklustre Stephen King short story, this film really plays so creatively with light and shadow and has an honestly spine-tingling monster design that feels viscerally frightening from its introduction to its final boss battle.

I love it when a film plays with light sources, most of all when good horror does it, and this flick really delivers on that point — not knowing where light is going to come from adds extra tension when you’re trying to see into the shadowy corners, and whether it’s from the lunar nightlight, the videogame flashes, the camera, the fridge, or anywhere else, this film really has this holistic approach to light and shadow that just fucks.

The Pope’s Exorcist (dir. Julius Avery)

Again, must a film be good?

Isn’t it enough to have a coked-up bear —

Okay, I used that line already, but this time it’s Russell Crowe, and he’s doing an Italian accent, and he’s riding a little Vespa, and it’s the funniest and best thing in the world.

Much like the DnD movie, The Pope’s Exorcist really leans into its premise and just goes really earnest about it — it doesn’t take too much time to sardonically comment on the ridiculousness of its own universe, and that makes it feel really fresh compared to a lot of other big studio horror films. It’s silly and stupid and mixes more impressive scares in with the cheap ones, and it’s just a really fun movie to watch with friends.

#musings #movie recs #they cloned tyrone #cocaine bear #down low #Youtube

[mamawasatesttube]

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks.” & “I won’t lose you too.” with timkon, konbart, maybe even timkonbart if you really want to :)

combined with this prompt ask from @randomexistentialemo (who tumblr is being weird about tagging, sorry!):

“Who cares about what they think?” for timkon?

Kon is quiet.

That's the first thing that stands out, when Tim slips into his room. The lights are dim enough that the slight glow of his eyes is visible, a luminous cyan against the muted yellow lamplight. The only sounds are the TV and Bart rambling over it, explaining the plot of the game he's currently playing; Kon's eyes are on the screen, but just by looking at him, Tim can tell he's not watching. Not really.

He's too quiet. Kon is a lot of things, but quiet is never one of them. Not unless something is very, very wrong.

Tim deliberately lets his feet fall audibly against the carpet as he jumps down from the windowsill. Bart's head snaps up; Kon, who presumably already knew he was there from his heartbeat alone, flicks a glance over at him, and a vague quirk of his lips, but says nothing.

Bart meets his gaze, wide-eyed with obvious worry. He jerks his head none-too-subtly at Kon and, apparently having noticed his distraction technique isn't working, mouths a desperate help.

Right. Tim's turn.

"I brought pizza," he announces, placing the box on the coffee table in front of the sofa. "And I'm hoping you didn't already polish off all the drinks in the fridge, 'cuz I didn't grab any."

The mini-fridge in the corner opens on its own, and three cans of Zesti float out. So at least Kon's feeling up to that much. That's... something.

"Thanks," Tim says, accepting the can that floats into his hand. He pops it open and plops down on the couch on Kon's other side, so that he can be a sad pile of blankets in the middle of his two best friends, at least.

God, that haunted look in his eyes... Tim knows Clark is handling the lab, now that the kryptonite is gone, and that Clark is beyond pissed at what happened to Kon, but hell if Tim doesn't wish he could go back there and punch every single unethical white coat shithead in there that schemed, plotted, and lied in order to get Supernova alone just to poison, drug, and kidnap him for a wannabe Cadmus successor's next pet project. He went in thinking they needed help, and they betrayed him, took advantage of his kindness, and—

Okay. Getting pissed again won't help anything. Yes, seeing Kon out of his mind with terror in the midst of a flashback while injured and in pain earlier was agonizing, infuriating, and horrifying. No, dwelling on it won't help make Kon feel a little better right now.

Tim takes a breath.

"I'm not too hungry," Kon says, and god, his voice is still raw. Bart clearly hears it too, because he puts down his slice of pizza and turns to wordlessly snuggle into Kon's side. "Sorry. You brought it all this way, and..."

"Kon." Tim rests a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't wanna eat, don't force yourself. That's fine. It's not like it's gonna go to waste anyway. We've got Bart right here."

That at least makes Kon smile ever-so-slightly, just for a moment. But it fades far too fast, and he sighs, hangs his head, and stares down at the Zesti clasped in both his hands.

Bart lifts his head slightly and meets Tim's gaze again. The worry in his eyes hasn't lessened; Tim is sure his own face mirrors it. He's not sure he's ever seen Kon break down like that before, in all the years they've known each other.

"...People saw, didn't they?" Kon asks, his voice carefully neutral. He doesn't lift his gaze. "Bet someone recorded it. Now everyone knows their great hero Supernova starts screaming bloody murder 'cuz of a fucking needle. Is it trending on Twitter how pathetic I am yet?"

Bart's head flies up in rage. "Who cares about what they think?" he demands. "Even if it is, I don't care what anyone else thinks! I'd have been freaking out really bad too! Grife, Kon, what they did to you was fucked up, and it's not pathetic that you're not okay!"

Tim presses a little closer into Kon's side, hoping it'll ground him. Kon has always sought out touch when he's upset. Judging by the hesitant brush of TTK against his hip, it was a good call; emboldened, Tim reaches up and strokes a hand through his hair, too. "Bart's right. And also... it's not trending or anything. There was one recording, from the security system, but I got rid of it. And Oracle is on high alert for any duplicates that might crop up. It's not getting out. I promise."

"Oh." Kon lets out a slow breath. Some of the tension in his shoulders seeps away; somehow, curled into himself between them both, despite his stature and his broad shoulders, he seems small. "That's... good."

"Yeah!" Bart agrees. "And Tim and I are on high alert to sit on you for the rest of the week. Right, Tim?"

"Right," Tim agrees. Bart fist-bumps him; it brings another tiny smile to Kon's face. This one lingers.

"Okay." Kon finally, finally lifts his head. He glances first to Bart, then to Tim, and sighs, drawing the blanket a little more tightly about himself. "So long as you guys don't mind me being pathetic."

"Pffff, as if." Bart nudges him. "Besides, you used to wear Axe. That's way more pathetic than anything you're doing right now. And I still stuck around."

Another tiny smile. Tim mentally congratulates Bart. He slips his arm around Kon's waist, leaning into his side fully, and reaches for the box of pizza. "So, what were you playing before I got here?"

Bart lights up, grabs the controller, and launches into a delighted spiel about his game. Kon goes back to watching, and Tim settles in to quietly bask in both of their presence, stalwart in his resolve to protect Kon. They'll both take care of him. God knows he's always taken care of them when they've needed it.

And Tim won't call him out on it or anything, but when a piece of pizza levitates its way out of the box toward Kon's mouth, all the same, Tim can't help but smile.

♥ angst/fluff prompts ♥

#long post #waugh. didnt mean to make it so long. but also kon had to go through the horrors you know? #his medical traumas............. the experimentation...... you know.................... #anyway um. yeah. jazz hands? im not 100% happy with it but Alas It's Already So Long #timkon #timkonbart #konbart #its. its all of them in one nebulous state sorry theyre just all here #is it romo? is it qp? anyone's guess! #tim #kon #bart #rimi writes

[tamelee]

fuck booktok fr it literally recommends the same ten books over and over again, mischaracterises or twinkifies half the characters and then act like theyve done no wrong when other book communities hate on them. LIKE BABES YOU LITERALLY TURNED LITERATURE INTO FAST FASHION. capatalism is at an all time high in booktok, with ppl having 200 physical tbr's and five editions of the same book. but if you say anything about it, you hated on for hating???? we really need to go back to libraries, its like ppl have forgotten those exist. anyway that was my small little rant hehe (sorry feel free to ignore)

Oooooh, book-community discourse is a thing? *-* Interesting. I do know they get a lot of backlash from the art-communities because every damn novel has one of three cover-designs and they all look the same nowadays. You can hardly tell the authors apart. Most are made by AI as well -.- (I mean, shouldn’t writers/authors and artists be on the same page about the matter? No? Imagine complaining about your writing being stolen and then using AI for your cover-art… come on now.) 

Feel free to rant always xD I’m actually happy to know I’m not the only one feeling weird about these 10’ish recommendations that you see over and over again. I picked one out that was Goodreads #1 bestseller once (2022, I believe) and seeing people rave about it and giving the monstrosity 5-⭐️ catapulted me to an alternative Universe to rethink my entire life. I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused. (Beautiful prose though, I’ll give it that.) 

((I put book-tok and -tube together because to me it didn’t seem like it’s much different? I don’t really use tiktok, but they all repost their vids and recs through yt-shorts. Not sure if putting the two together pissed someone off then, but please do correct me if I’m wrong.))

Yeeaaahh, you’re right actually. I never really sat down to think about it, but that analogy you made is pretty brilliant. I mean, it’s sad, but a lot do treat books like fast fashion from what I’ve seen. I may not like majority of these ‘trending’ books, but treating a piece of work that way (cheap and trendy) hurts my book-loving heart a little. If ever possible in the future, I’d love to have a library in my home with my favorite books. (Dark academia style of course.) I usually only buy a physical copy if I really liked it after reading the digital version. Unfortunately around here, most libraries have closed :( So I’m afraid you’re right about that as well— people really have forgotten. 

#asktamelee #book discourse #hehe #book talk #Oh! I do realize Goodreads isn't very reliable #but a bestseller should still say something... #it's like they all infiltrated these sites to make a sport out of rating stories

[system-of-a-feather]

McLean Hospital DID Video Controversey; Our (+ our Fiance's) Take

I'm really going to probably primarily summarize our takes in this post. If you want to see my raw chicken scratch notes (changes from scratch to REALLY scratchy due to me putting back on my finger brace for my sprained pinky) you can try to decipher them here. If there is any part you want me to translate, reblog and/or send an ask or something, but ya know

I have a saved copy of the video here.

Anyways some context to mine and my fiance's background and relevancy to this topic that reflect our opinions and biases on the topic

Me: I have been diagnosed with DID for a while. I've been on social media (briefly on twitter for 2 seconds, but arguably I think one of the larger DID blogs on tumblr maybe? *bless invisible follower accounts*) and use it with a DID focus on one of my social medias. Used to follow DID Youtube. I am also a research nerd and actually, back in university, would try to find time to come out to seminars like this at the place I used to be a research intern on. I very much enjoy these environments and seminars that summarize present concerns and ideas in the research community. I've also basically cleared "stabilization" phase of DID and according to some have achieved what might be considered "functional multiplicity" yet am still progressing with my recovery.

Fiance: He's my partner since 2016 and has been actually living with us for about a month now. He's a communications major with specialization on advertising and marketing and as a decent part of his education focused on how social media is being used and how that stuff plays into effective advertising. He also has a close relationship with his mom that - until he started dating me and I got diagnosed - did he not know that she also had DID as she is of the type that is very ashamed, confused, and embarrassed by it. Between the both of us though, when his mom, him, and I go out to dinner, he is really the only one checked in and its kinda really funny cause he looks like the weird one for not entirely spacing out.

Yes, we made this a mini date night.

Anyways, the point.

The seminar had a lot of really good points, a few alright points, and a few really EHHH points. They also did directly use videos without censoring the users or doing much to protect their identity / reduce risk of harassment which I do feel is problematic cause he did - in part of his discussion about social media and DID - acknowledge that harassment is viral in the DID community for both people who have it and people who don't. I think that in itself is the largest issue and the largest fuck up that he really should honestly put an apology out for imo cause he really did comment on how huge of an issue it is, and did little due diligence to not add to it. While I don't think that is "malpractice" it is unprofessional. Do I think we should take his license for it? No. Do I think he should be held accountable / he owes an apology for that? Yeah probably.

Beyond that huge fuck up, the overall take away I got was that his concern for malingering / maladaptive use on social media on people who DO have DID and those that don't but might think they do / might be faking is absolutely valid and I do think it is someting that needs to be talked about; however he presents it in a kinda problematic way with a clear attitude and perspective that is both very (ironically) trauma stuck and - as my fiance and I started putting it in our conversations - "Boomer Takes"

He comments on how a lot of it is very flashy, performative, and sensationalized and comments on how that can be harmful / dangerous and I do agree, but I also don't think that inherently has anything to do with validating or invalidating how their diagnosis.

I DO absolutely agree with him calling out the trend of monetizing the disorder which I have strong opinions against and I do find it extremely uncomfortable for people to be trying to monetize the disorder outside of genuine extreme situations where support is needed.

I had a lot less of a notable take on the comment on the switches being overt because I actually never seen someone switch in person (his mom is very covert and not the most talkative about hers), but my fiance had a very loud laughing fit over how dramatic and weird they were commenting that neither of the ones he showed looked anything like either of how me or his mom show things.

There was a REALLY good S tier section on the Fantasy Model VS Trauma Model as well as how DID forms and the nature of it in the middle that I think was actually VERY well done and informative and I would like to chef kiss the air at it.

Again, there were a lot of good points to it and it was informative but I do have a few complaints.

The overall issue I find with his rhetoric are

a lot of his points sound mostly anecdotal which is not really the best (he did have some studies but, a lot of "this is not what we see"

he really has a set mindset that seems to summarize to "if they are not completely shocked and traumatized when they switch and are used to it, then they are faking / malingering" which is pretty problematic

he doesn't leave room for the fact that some people with DID do heal and recover from trauma and while most might be experiencing it in a way that is horrifying, people DO heal and discounting the lack of shame and acceptance as reasons to suspect malingering / faking is kind of problematic and against healing ideas

he doesn't leave account for generational gaps in how mental health is approached and while he focuses a lot on how people are inappropriately using DID "content" he only brushes over and vaguely hand gestures at what he would suggest "healthy" usage to look like which once again doesn't serve to be the most productive of conversation

his very understanding of the disorder in short is very dependent on the idea that people with DID "are usually ashamed" and "very traumatized" which the latter is true but again, healing exists

a point my fiance brought up is that while he has a lot of good concerns and points, a lot of his points come from anecdotes and how he "doesn't see these things in his practice" but he never really talked to any of the people he is commentating on the behavior of and the thing with social media is those with the largest following tend to be the extreme ends of whatever niche they are in so it is likely that those with extreme followings likely have extreme (ie atypical) experiences of the disorder simply by the nature of how the disorder is

Anyways, theres probably a few more details worth commentating on or transcribing from my notes but my pinky is sprained and i already wrote a shit ton for this so Imma give it a break and not type it all up.

TLDR: its not the best delivered video but it does have its merrit and the overall concept / concern is valid and important, but the dudes a boomer and has an issue of "poor traumatized and broken meow wows" about people with DID that is kinda annoying and out of touch

TLDR 2: Guys he didn't do fucking malpractice. People who are saying he did malpractice honestly need to get off the internet and learn how to use those words correctly cause yall are watering it down. (insert world heritage meme on the word 'gatekeeping' and 'gaslighting')

Absolutely feel free to reblog/send asks for more elaboration and all on it, but thats just my notes and take from it.

#alter: riku #syscourse tw #discourse tw #mclean hospital #mclean hospital discourse tw #actuallydid #dissociative identity disorder #research #academic discourse #matthew a robinson #matthew robinson #fake claiming tw #fakeclaiming tw

[banghwa]

i saw 'hybe respect jimin' trending and i was ready to roll my eyes bc you know how armies arez but apparently in the seom has a new storyline where jimin's character is upset that he's not good enough and that he's bringing the group down. mind you, i think it's shitty to monetize someone's insecurities from two american presidents ago, especially when that period also had that person struggling with an ed and fainting because of how hard they pushed themselves. but also, suga's character tells him that if he has time to mope, he has time to practice, and that if he doesn't improve they'll leave him behind??? what??? suga has been nothing but supportive to his members, especially jimin, always said how much he loved jimin's voice and jimin himself said suga's encouragement sparked his ambition and desire to be a bts member.

i hate to speculate because we truly don't know anything but it's bizarre how these low-key hostile situations keep happening to jimin. from the face rollout, hybe not doing anything to support the first korean soloist to debut at #1 of the hot 100, scolding him for wanting two more music videos... i know he's a grown man and even has stocks in this company but there's def something weird going on behind the scenes. i'm flabbergasted that they would approve something so tactless about two bts members.

oh now thats just. sorry that in the seom thing is insanely gross and exploitative. thats not something that belongs in a fucking mobile app game idc. this is what i mean when i talk annoyingly and endlessly about BTS The Brand (tm) bcs like. atp they are not fucking people to hybe/bighit at all everything theyve done and felt and talked about becomes part of the brand . and i dont think ppl realize that they dont need bts' permission to do this shit either. i dont even know what to say thats so fucking gross. i cant say anything abt jimins' specific treatment especially since honestly the more i think about it these weird management issues these days seems to come back to the bizarre brandification of bts . on one hand im not surprised bcs hybe's MO these days seems just to be "make bts into characters -> sell the cliche -> use this to encourage dangerous fan behaviour -> profit" and like. this in the seom thing seems part of that. hybe dont care at all about protecting bts/any of their idols. neither do most entertainment companies but you'd think the people who built this company would get a little leniency.....i get why they would do this. because its juicy and it victimizes bts (and specifically one of the most popular members) in a way that is profitable, that feeds a narrative that is profitable, that can be used to justify certain fan behaviour that hybe encourages, etc. but its so gross that it honestly makes me feel sick. they better get rid of that shit so fast on god i need jimin to draft that lawsuit NOW

#for the record bts no longer have shares in hybe since like 2020 as far as i know #also im joking abt the lawsuit i know its probably a contractual thing that they can just do without his consent. but fuck #its vile. its like. a weirdly visceral low even for hybe. #💌 #anonymous

[roostertuftart]

god the justin roiland stuff is so disappointing but I can't say i'm surprised. Idk if I can ever really enjoy Rick and Morty after this. It already felt filled to the brim with creepy shit that made this whole situation unsurprising for me and had already dashed my enjoyment of it, like having underage Morty date an adult with even his mom addressing it was nasty (the narrative being wholly uncritical of this fact by the end), or all of the weird fixation it's come to have on incest, or just awkward in its writing of female characters.

I'm not here to say you can't still like and enjoy the show yourself because frankly I don't care (though I'd argue you should try pirating it if possible to avoid financial support. But eh, I've yet to see boycotting large and established IPs like this do any good anyway), nor do I think that we should've seen this coming (I do think those were some massive missteps in writing but I wouldn't go as far as to say someone is automatically a predator because they very poorly wrote a joke or two). But man, it really is gross for me to look back on it as well as Solar Opposites to a lesser degree because it really does feel like a lot of this weird shit was deeply imbedded all along. Knowing now that it truly comes from such a fucked up place rather than some nasty jokes or poor writing is hard for me to get past personally. I wasn't the largest fan of Rick and Morty but I loved a lot about it, a lot of the characters, a lot of the ideas and jokes- And the same goes for Solar Opposites.

Idk really where to go from here. I'm just tired of so many famous people turning out to be such monsters, and I hope this is a dying trend as we move farther and farther away from the normalization of youth being so highly sexualized, of teenagers being blamed for the abuse they experience, but sometimes it's hard to keep your faith in the goodness of others when so often these people you look up to turn out to be monsters.

Is this just what humans are? Is it secretly normal to be this disgusting for vast swaths of the human population? It feels like that sometimes. But I don't know- And I don't really think so at the end of the day. I think it's largely societal and something that will in large part become less and less common as time goes on and the world progresses- And while I do think more people are like this than we'd like to believe, I don't think it's innate to any of us, and I think with time and effort things will change and this sickening trend will begin to ebb but. Well. The hopelessness is strong some days.

I hope all of his victims are okay now, I hope they can move on with their lives, I hope his shows are canceled because putting aside my earlier personal grievances, I just do not believe they can last without his writing and voices and I especially do not think he deserves such a platform just to keep a beloved cartoon or two going.

#justin roiland #discourse #it's not but putting that tag for the blacklist ppl #not south park #yeah surprise surprise i'm a rick and morty fan a little bit sorry #vent #me talking

[mermaidsirennikita]

Re romantasy and kingdom of the wicked I totally feel you. It's always annoyed me that when women write fantasy about women it is like, automatically assumed to be YA and now with TikTok we see this weird trend of YA books written for adults not kids. A very similar thing happened with Lightlark where the first book was defended by saying it was for kids, and thus wasn't supposed to be good (which...lol) but then the second one was super Horned Up in a way that obviously was not for kids. Just make it for adults from the beginning! Adult fiction isn't scary! I feel the same about NA--why are we acting as if Adult fiction can't be written with a lighter tone? And this is not to say that YA can't have sexual content. Imho it can but that content should be written with the audience in mind and many of these books simply aren't for teens despite the label. Sorry this kinda got away from your post but I wanted to echo that im seeing what you're seeing!

No I'm glad you brought this up!

Honestly, I think that much of the fantasy romance discussion is so colored by a confusion regarding the audience. For many years, a lot of publishers really thought that the only way to sell fantasy romance or romance-adjacent fantasy was to market it as YA. I think that part of this was because, prior to that, there was a real sense of fantasy being a (nerdy) man's space. Like, women enjoyed it, but they were more a bonus than the audience, in the mind of publishing. I don't think they thought of women as the people reading GRRM or Brandon Sanderson. Certainly not Tolkien.

Whereas I believe the YA boom was often attributed to teen girls--and I say that because there was a surprising lack of YA fantasy with male protagonists, at least when I was reading it. Or solo male protagonists, at least; you might have boys thrown into an ensemble, but if there was a solo POV it was usually a girl. And of course, part of this was an extension of looking down on the female audience, right? This isn't "real" fantasy, it's for kids! Despite the fact that there is of course, thoughtful and well-written YA fantasy.

Then, as it had been happening with Twilight (and everything YA, but I think with Twilight it became this very recognized deal) adult readers became a huge part of the conversation. And I say this as an adult who read YA fantasy primarily for years--I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But I do think there has been a real issue with YA in general being taken away from its original audience. Which is a big reason why things graphic sex have become more prominent in YA. The voice of the adult reader is overshadowing the voice of the teen. (And of course, adults often have more free income to spend on these books--especially as ebooks have become so dominant. A lot teens have e-readers, a lot of them can read on apps, but many of them do not have independent bank accounts they can link to these products, which means they can't buy as freely.)

And while I think it's totally fine for adults to enjoy YA, I don't think it's okay for adults to speak over the primary audience. If you're upset that the teen books aren't giving you the adult content you want, content I think is absolutely fine to want when you read... Grow the fuck up and read adult books. Like I did lmao.

The thing is, for a lot of those readers that's going to mean transitioning to romance, because romance gives them the things they want--it's commercial, it's focused on relationships, it has sex on the page. But for a while--during the YA boom at least--I feel like there were certain authors singled out as like. Above it all. Like they were doing Writing whereas romance has long been seen as... just writing. If that. And I think a lot of readers bought into that.

(So did a lot of writers, for the record. Romance writers have drama, absolutely. But Jesus lmao. The high-handedness of YA authors on Twitter can be something ELSE. Like people, you're writing commercial fiction like all the rest of us. You aren't any better and your drama is not any more impactful.)

So, yeah. I'm glad to see fantasy romance for adults becoming more of a thing, because I personally feel that many authors probably wanted to write for adults, but were pushed to age down by agents and publishers. (Understandably, for agents.) But the transition can be tricky, because I do think the automatic assumption many readers still have is "fantasy with kissing" = YA fantasy. I saw Kerri Mansicalco on Insta being like "we are trying to be very clear that these standalones are adult". To me, these Kingdom of the Wicked books read as soooo adult lol. And it almost seems like you can read the transition in real time. Which is so interesting.

#romance novel blogging

[bigcutebutt]

oh yes, i wanted to talk about this. omegle shut down last year. i only found out in the last week or so

i'm going to be weirdly honest about something i would have otherwise kept to myself forever, but i spent far too much time there, for many, many years of my life. only in text chat, i dont know who in their right mind would want to do the video chat lol. mostly, it was a fruitless and self-destructive behavior that left me feeling not good, but i can't help feeling sad it's just outright gone now, since it was always there for me on and off over so long

as you can probably guess, i used it to talk about what i like to call "weird things" and what now most people call "kinks" - but it's always more complicated than that for me. generally i would roleplay as some exaggerated ideal self - deliberately too exaggerated to be believable, of course (i wasn't trying to deceive). i didn't like to "roleplay" as if i was actually physically interacting with people, i just liked to roleplay that i was someone else, an ideal me, typing on a computer on omegle.com

what made it so special to me was that it was completely ephemeral. usually i'm someone who likes to hoard data, but the way omegle worked was absolutely ideal for exploring myself. every conversation was fresh, and i could try new approaches to "being myself" that had generally zero consequences (with the caveat that of course i never tried to upset or hurt anyone!). nobody had a pre-existing idea of who i was. there was no false image i could possibly build around myself. i could try out human interaction in a distinctly private way. (when people wished to keep in touch outside of omegle, i almost invariably failed completely at keeping anything going)

the relation this has to gender is blindingly obvious, of course. just like literally everything i post about

(though the recurring faces who would show up in the same tags over years and years were an exception to this, but interesting to think about. a weird sense of texture, other lonely people repeating the same fantasies over years of their lives just as i was, for better or worse. fuck you, michael) (sorry to any michaels reading this)

it is probably a good thing that the temptation to go on omegle can never recur for me, given how many nights i ended up disgusted with myself. but again, something is lost forever. a kind of opportunity for self-exploration is lost - one uniquely suited to my own neuroses about being observed. not to mention the general trend of the internet of my youth vanishing piece by piece

as i often complain about, im not sure how to explore myself now when im on my own. its harder for me than it is for others. i dont masturbate, so i cant do what literally everyone else ive met does. i guess i'm just saying that publicly now. i might be too old to even need to explore myself now (but a philosophy of "its never too late" is certainly admirable). but damn it, sometimes i'm just in a mood!

i can only hope that i keep evolving and changing, indefinitely. and hopefully in a way that involves becoming even weirder

theres so much more to say about omegle culture - there were truly so many little quirks that will remain with me forever, especially in the weirder tags. it's an embarrassing part of my life, but also, i think, an important and telling one. sometimes i wanted desperately to have close friends who would keep me from going on it, as if helping me with an addiction - but i never quite achieved that with anyone. but it's still sad. it's an ending. and like most endings on the internet for me, nothing takes its place. i refuse to adapt to the new internet, the web of smartphone apps. its just another part of me that is now vanished. sealed. retired

[skepticalarrie]

i totally agree with your take about the letter i see louis right now as an artist that just wants to continue creating music "but like he always says that but he would appreciate being number 1!!" he really never ask as for a number 1 spot that is our way of saying thank you to him for releasing music and as a form of support and with all the interviews he had where he says tiktok is shit well i can see where he is coming from some fans see feel pressured to make him trend in tiktok or whatever trending social media platform to reach the gp yeah i understand that too he already shared that he participates in team planning so whatever bmg has planned for him has gone through him i don;t see why theyre asking for too much like they wanted louis to be like what you said the things he used to do in 1d i mean let's be honest here louis isn't releasing music to make more money it's mostly for the fans so whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy im really tired of arguing about this to other people so its nice to see ur take

Yeah I think Louis saying how nice it is for fans to also be part of that may have caused this reaction, but at this point, I think people are just trying to fix something that doesn't need to get fixed. Like I said, I think it lacks so much perspective and nuance because I bet these are the same people trending #FreeHarry because they believe his team is holding him captive and making him do stuff just for fame. So they're trying to turn Louis into the same thing, charts, numbers, fame, overexposure. Louis is not Harry, Louis is not One Direction... I think people truly missed his entire journey as a solo artist and how confusing and hard it was for him to understand that looking for a hit single was not his goal. And only when he got rid of this concept was when he was able to finally do the music he wanted to do, that's when he left Syco. It's pretty disturbing to think fans are kind of trying to drag him to this same place he felt so unhappy and lost at some point.

We all want Louis to succeed as much as possible, FITF is such an amazing album and I get the feeling like people need to know him!!! he's amazing!!! people are missing out!! lol I truly do. But every marketing strategy has a brief, every career has a goal. And for everything Louis has been saying lately, this is absolutely not what he's going for. Yes... some of the promo was weird as fuck, especially some interviews, I really don't understand the purpose of it. So we all have different ideas of what should be done and something different to complain about. But the point is that Louis kind of just wants to tour now and do his thing without anyone bothering him, without Sony breathing down his neck. That's BMG job and I think they're pretty decent so far. Louis looks so happy and so proud of the album. So, really, people need to take a step back and understand what they're saying when they write open letters like that, what is being implied, what are the consequences of getting what they're asking for. Because it feels like quite a lot of fans lately have been having a really hard time accepting what Louis is and what he wants, it's so much about what fans want him to be.

#ask #fitf promo #solo louis

[cuntstable]

i do think that its horrid that it feels like spaces for adults and adult content and uncensored content online are dissapearing what with like so many services banning nsfw content over the past few years and the trend of grown adults now being scared to swear or even say words like ”kill” or ”sex” even in strictly serious adult conversations/videos etc. but its CRAAAAAZYYYYYYY to even PRETEND that thats the fault of people who want safe online spaces for kids or worse the fault of children themselves what the hell. like i cant talk about any of the above^ things with out cringing thinking that im going to be associated with chronically online adults who talk about ”puriteens” and complain about minors invading their….. public open spaces that are often times related to fandoms of childrens media LOL. like the reason for the dissapearance of adult speech and content is advertizers wanting sanitized spaces and pressuring platforms to inflict stricter content rules on their userbase as well as to purge said userbase of people like sex workers (even when said workers are often responsible for those platforms rising in users), and NOT the fault of people who think that a child should be able to like search for fan art of their favourite cartoon with out running into fetish porn. but so many adults online have so much weird resentment towards children and people who care about their safety that they just close their eyes and go LALALALALA and ignore any actual realities of the situation so that they can continue to both bully kids and keep up their constant complaining about ”purity culture” or whatever the fuck

#SOOOO FUCKING DUMB #like hello. hello. helloooooo

[boobiespasta]

instead of rambling on twitter in its cramped, claustrophobic threads format i've chosen. just the one time. to ramble here. some of the stuff that's been bouncing around in my head for the past 2 weeks. it's weird being so hyperfixated on life instead of media for a change, which really isn't as sexy and awesome as i think it's cracked up to be because instead of rambling about silly creatures from a fictional universe all i do now is just. ramble about life. the times. and i'm just gloomy about it all the time. extremely long winded ramble about politics under the cut

i absolutely refuse to shut up about palestine for one. a palestinian alumni/fellow of my school, his family, his children, all one of the absolutely fucking unforgivable amount of refugees in the jabalia camp who were killed. obviously he is so, so far from the only life to have been taken in the atrocities, but my fucking school's newspaper has been fucking things up spectacularly when it comes to "coverage" and my school in general just. i get so fucking angry. our alumns are dying and yet my school chooses in its official statements to mostly address israel and the alleged peril our jewish student population... when i've been following on ig every palestinian student org for my school i can find and they've been begging for some publicity or support from the school it's just so fucking vile. it makes me so upset that i got lazy and literally was too busy gaming the day of transfer apps and now i'm stuck at this fucking... state uni, possibly rotting here for my undergrad. at the same time god forbid i follow in my father's ivy league footsteps and shoot for ivy league because fucking COLOMBIA and UPENN are being TARGETTED by the FUCKING c2n@ry or5aniz@ti0n which. i literally cannot fucking express how fucking angry the fact that that exists at all makes me. the future of our generation's activism is cast deep in the shadow of our incompetent fucking predecessors. god forbid we get younger voices in power! god forbid we protest to make a difference, lest we get actual targets put on our heads! and i've listened to the contrary as much as i loathed to, because that's what makes a productive opinion. synthesis. and i have never felt less compelled by a counter stance before. every day videos of parents holding the dismembered limbs of their children, israelis making a tiktok trend out of kidnapping and or mocking palestinians, the sitting head of the UN in new york releasing a letter of resignation because of the anguish he feels watching an organization dedicated to peace fail so miserably at its job... all of it should radicalize everyone. people should be making calls to their representatives, keeping discussions frequent. making sure everyone around you knows that antizionism does NOT equal antisemitism. i will not argue to the contrary; i grew up conservative and with a devil's advocate personality, and i think anyone even considering a neutral stance should genuinely be ashamed of themselves.

in other only slightly less depressing news, taking a class on korean diaspora has made me go through so many different identity shifts in the past few weeks and i feel like it's just made me gloomier. i'm taking an upper classman seminar class about korean diasporic activism through performing arts which was so hilariously specific that i laughed when i realized it was my only option (i tested out of every other korean level) and i was like well i'm korean diaspora this should be so easy but it's genuinely the most challenging class i've ever taken. every week lately i've just cried and cried reading the texts we're assigned to read because i've never felt so seen and so doomed before. i did a presentation on a WONDERFUL text excerpt by professor emerita at uc berkeley elaine h. kim that spoke to all of the racism i endured growing up, the first generation child that "rises above" their immigrant parents and finds success in the model minority mold by exploiting, exoticizing, fetishizing their own identity... i learned in the past few weeks (so genuinely very recently) that, despite my appearance, i'll never be a true korean; a native korean will never understand the extent of the discrimination i faced. being afraid to eat ethnic food in front of peers fear of it being called smelly or stolen altogether, getting slotted into the japanese/chinese binary categories before the rise of kpop, why i get so excited to see ethnic korean faces and food, my struggle to take my diverse interests and fit them into a cookie cutter mold to one of the most violently homogenous societies on earth, why any korean child in america like me would ever want to be white if that meant we wouldn't stick out. nor am i a true american; this being more self explanatory, of course. what does that make me? an imbricate mongrel of the two identities? i learned, in fact, that i am korean-american: something almost entirely independent of both nationalities. i learned that korean-americans have a rich history of finding ourselves in places we don't belong and making establishing loud communities to fight for our own rights. immigrating to hawai'i in the early 1900's, establishing committees and supporting our motherland who ultimately turned around and spat in our faces. our new place was almost just as unwelcoming; and after weaseling our way into black communities without first addressing racism, koreans found ourselves at the apex of black and brown anger across america during the la riots (to be korean-american is to be born with the blood of latasha harlins on your hands). we were desperate to distance ourselves from the japanese, triply in a bout of patriotic self-perceived superiority, rise beyond a race of people who tried to ethnically cleanse us, and in an attempt to prove we were "one of the good ones," but we were still placed in japanese internment camps. we're still expected to prostrate ourselves at the feet of every wrinkly us vet with a korean war badge on their hat. "we saved your gook asses."

but to be asian-american at all is also to be doomed to a life of never rising beyond the model minority ceiling. the model minority "model" as it were promises a life of permanent mediocrity in exchange for some semblance of security (and even then we're a dime a dozen; all competing against each other and evolving like bacteria, we cannibalize ourselves anyway and suddenly our employers' jobs have gotten that much easier). those who try to rise beyond the model and prove themselves to society more often than not, not deemed exemplary, but instead seen as having fulfilled their life cycle or reached their point of maturity in the "life of the species" (chay yew); they're in turn locked into to a life of monotony as they've "found their niche" as analyst hyeon youngbin puts it... "everything one achieves after entering the system is attributed not to the individual’s ability but to the efficacy of model minority status; the more you achieve, the more you justify the model minority." asian-americans in particular will always, no matter what they do, perpetuate the model minority in our attempts to achieve our "ideal labour" (youngbin); those who defy it suffer for it and are seen as asians who failed or weren't smart enough, those who fit comfortably into it perpetuate its abuse and are oftentimes miserable (as one tends to be living a life in servitude of/being a poster child of capitalism despite rarely being rewarded for it), and those who try to challenge and overcome it simply come to realize that the ceiling is both low and infinite, and that they, if anything, are inadvertently the most aggressive contributors to model minority-isms.

anyway. ive been really bothered and gloomier than usual because of this shit. its nice to be able to type it all out without the breaks in concentration between thread tweets

[screamingay]

started ranting about doctor who to my gf and realized i actually have a lot of opinions (which start off summarizing hbomberguy's takes from the sherlock video but it was kind of a revelation for me) so if u want to hear them ive copypasted and edited them a bit for u guys under the cut <3

so like to set up how bad steven moffat is he explains why doctor who was so bad when moffat was the showrunner in a way ive been trying to articulate for years

basically he's a decent writer who was good at individual episodes that make reference to the doctors history but when it came to actually writing that history and the big events that would become the doctor's history he sucks so so so badly

like in the empty child he was amazing, he prioritized the story of the episode while giving the doctor an air of mystery and references a long and complicated backstory without compromising any charm or humor

but in the very first episode where he had reins on the entire show and its storylines he resorted to just a monologue from the doctor about how cool and special he is and that trend continued the whole time he was in charge. the entire universe suddenly revolved around the doctor

like. chibnall was clearly trying to subvert that by only using brand new aliens during his first season and having extra companions (three of them jesus christ) but he didn't address the heart of the problem and somehow made it even worse. the charm of the doctor was always that they were just a traveler bouncing around the universe and helping people or having fun or whatever

and of course there was always the tragic backstory and the genocide and being the last of his kind and all that but that always came second to the humans he loved!! the first time the master came back in tennant's run it was martha and her family and jack that saved him!! and chibnall tried to do that with yaz but it just didnt feel as impactful bc of how overpowering the master & timeless child plots were (dont even get me started on the timeless child shit retconning the entire history of the show to make the doctor quite literally the most important being in the universe)

moffat on the other hand went all over the place with it and wrote in intergalactic cults deadset on killing the doctor and when he did try to make companions special and important he completely took away their agency in the process

to me clara was a decent companion and had some great moments for me until she turned out to be not real or a metaphor or forgotten or dead or somehow retconned into existing since the show started in 1963 it was all so WEIRD and misses the point of making a companion important. it made her so important she lost her humanity imo

and then there was bill who also died and was mutilated beyond recognition and it just makes me think about how rtd never did that to companions. they were special not because of time magic or destiny or fucked up deaths but because they were just humans. with families. martha got to go back to her family. donna had to forget but she was happy in the end. rose was supposed to live out her life in the parallel universe with her own mortal doctor, and she did, but moffat STILL found a way to bring her back as a metaphor because his desire to deconstruct female companions into concepts and tragedies was just too strong

that's not even getting into what he did to river. or amy...

none of this is to say rtd is perfect of course, i'm really nervous to see how he deals with everything that's been thrown at the show in the past couple decades but considering he plans on staying for a while i really hope he manages to put a better twist on all of it. honestly the thing im most curious about is the special effects.. the show has been leaving very heavily on cg lately but chibnall did introduce a few decent practical effects and puppets so i hope rtd pushes for more of that. im getting off topic tho

that's all i have for now i hope u enjoyed and if u wanna discuss anything pls feel free although that's all the brainpower i have for today come back tomorrow <3

#the thing about doctor who is that it's still doctor who even when it's bad. which presents a dilemma to every new showrunner #in that they have to find a way to either incorporate the previous canon into their canon or find a way to discard it. in canon #how funny would it be if rtd started and immediately said all the timeless child bs was a fever dream